Worley, Ranhill Malaysian Venture Receives Suspension Notice

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- WorleyParsons Ltd., Australia’s
largest oil and gas engineering company, said its venture with
Ranhill Bhd. got a suspension notice from state-owned Petroliam
Nasional Bhd. for its Malaysian operations.

The venture is holding talks with the oil company known as
Petronas, which is manager of Malaysia’s energy reserves, to get
the suspension lifted, Sydney-based WorleyParsons said today in
an e-mailed statement. The company is optimistic the discussions
will lead to a commercial resolution, it said. It didn’t cite a
reason for the suspension.

WorleyParsons, which owns 49 percent of the Malaysian
venture with Ranhill, picked the Southeast Asian nation as its
second global hub after Houston. Ranhill Energy and Resources
Bhd., the energy and water company that’s part of Ranhill Bhd.,
raised 753 million ringgit ($236 million) in a share sale this
month, according to two people familiar with the sale. Trading
is due to start July 31, according to the prospectus.

Shares of the Australian company today fell 2.2 percent to
A$21.97 in Sydney. The benchmark index rose 0.4 percent.